Eastern Door Volume 5 Number 42

Volume 5 Number 42

November 22, 1996

Bailiffs Seize Vehicles
By: Kenneth Deer

Bailiffs, with the assistance of the Kahnawake Peacekeepers, entered the business and home of Charlie Robertson to seize possessions as a result of a court order.

Two bailiffs, one at Robertson's Garage on the OCR and the other at his home on Mortgage Lane, appeared at 9 a.m. Tuesday morning November 1996. They carried with them a court order to seize all movable property from the premises. The action was the result of a civil court decision on October 6, in Quebec Superior Court in Longueuil. The action was brought against Robertson by Randy Goodleaf.

"I had no idea that they were coming," said Robertson. "If there was a court decision on October 6, it is news to me because I was not notified."

The bailiff identified a number of vehicles and office furniture at the garage for removal. However, Robertson notified the bailiff that not all the cars on the lot were his. "I told the Peacekeepers and the bailiff which ones were not mine but they still took them away," said Robertson.

Up to 17 vehicles were taken from the garage including four cars by two truck, a bus camper, and air compressor and office furniture.

"They even took a Lincoln and a filing cabinet that belonged to a former employee of mine. Now, she has to get her own lawyer to get her car and files back," said Robertson.

At the same time, the other bailiff went to the home of Agnes Robertson. "The first thing I saw was this man with his badge up against my window. I thought maybe someone was hurt or something so I let him in. Then he tells me he is here to seize all the furniture and the house too. He began to itemize everything in the house. I told him to stop but he kept right on going," said Agnes.

"I told them they can't take anything. That this is my house and not my husband's. I used the phone to call for help and asked for the Warriors. As soon as the Peacekeepers heard that, more Peacekeepers showed up," said Agnes.

A crowd of people and some men called by the Nation Office showed up. The Peacekeepers, responsible for the escort and protection of the bailiffs, called more officers to the scene to prevent a confrontation.

The Peacekeepers recommended to the bailiff that he should leave before any problems started and that they should meet at the Peacekeeper station. There, Charlie Robertson, the bailiffs, and the Peacekeepers negotiated a peaceful resolution to the incident.

The bailiffs were informed that the house did indeed belong to Agnes Robertson and that they could not seize the property or the contents of the house. The bailiffs left and there has not been any word from them as of press time.

"I would like to thank the Warriors for their quick response to our call. They stopped the furniture from being seized. If they did not show up, I'm afraid my wife alone would not have been able to stop the bailiff," said Robertson.

"I don't hold anything against the Peacekeepers, they were just doing their job. But the bailiff did not offer to settle this court action before they showed up. My lawyer tells me that they should have allowed me to make an offer of settlement. And this is besides not being told of the court hearing in the first place," added Robertson.

Stephan Fuchs, of Chateauguay, a lawyer for Frank Randy Goodleaf, said there are two judgments. One for $19,740 for unpaid rent plus interest from June 8, 1990. The second judgment was for $61,346.14 for default on a loan plus interest from the same date. Robertson, according to Fuchs, did not file a defense.

The lawyer for Mr. Goodleaf asked the Department of Indian Affairs to put a lien on seven properties owned by Mr. Robertson. While the Department was processing the request, six of the properties were transferred to other members of the family. The lawyer will be asking for the transfer of the properties of Mr. and Mrs. Robertson to the name of Mr. Goodleaf. If the Department of Indian Affairs does not respect the legal seizures, they will seek a court action against the department.

Under the Indian Act, an Indian can get a court order to seize the land of another Indian for just cause. A non-Indian cannot seize land but only moveable property.

RETURN

Donations Flooding in
Radiothon helps raise over $25,000
By: Tom Dearhouse

Kahnawake residents and neighboring communities opened their pocketbooks this past week-end to raise a generous $25,321 in pledges during a radiothon to help residents with flood damage costs.

A large rainfall November 1 and 2, flooded basements which, in the worst cases, caused loss of heating furnaces, furniture and major appliances.

The two day radiothon was organized by volunteers form K 103 radio, Mohawk Council, Kahnawake Community Services, and the Caisse Populaire Kahnawake. A five-person committee will distribute funds for the most immediate needs.

The radio programming consisted of requests for songs, frequent updates on total pledges, and a rotation of people on-air, plus unique entertainment by Kahnawake's musicians.

Aside from generous contributions from community members and businesses such as Club Rez ($1000) and the Caisse Populaire Kahnawake ($10,000), many communities with radio range of K 103 made pledges also.

Sun Youth vice-president Sid Stevens and Jim Stitchman, V.P. of finance, handed over a $1,000 checque to Grand Chief Joe Norton on behalf of an anonymous benefactor who wanted to help.

Mr. Stevens shared details of a deceased man's wishes to help the Native People around Montreal. Accordingly, Sun Youth workers are managing his estate of $50,000 in Canada bonds. The amount of interest, several hundred dollars yearly, may be turned over to the MCK in an agreement.

In addition to the approximately $35,000 designated for flood victims, along with the Caisse Populaire account for anonymous donations, a significant amount is expected under provincial guidelines relating to civil security.

RETURN

Editorial

RCMP raid a cause to worry
By: Kenneth Deer, The Eastern Door

One of the major concerns over the signing of the policing agreement was the abuse of power that would be exercised by outside forces inside Kahnawake.

The fears were realized with the RCMP raid on a residence on the Old Chateauguay Road a couple of weeks ago. The RCMP searched the house and grounds with ten officers and two dogs, supported by the Peacekeepers. They entered the front door and also forced their way into a side door, breaking the door and frame. The young couple and child living there were held at gun point while the search took place. Only after the police had done their work did they bother to show the search warrant to the couple.

The RCMP claimed that the house was under surveillance for some time. How long and by who was not, and will not, be revealed. The warrant clearly indicated, by a map, the exact location of the house. The police were looking for guns and explosives. None were found.

How could the police make such a mistake? If the house was under such close observation, then the police should have known that there were no weapons there and the couple was not involved in anything illegal.

Was it just a mistake? A gross error by an incompetent group of the RCMP? Or is there something more sinister behind the raid?

It may be that the house was not under such close surveillance. It may be that the RCMP wanted to test the cooperation of the Peacekeepers and used some creative investigation reports to convince a judge to grant a search warrant.

Even more sinister is that the RCMP may have wanted to flex some muscle to demonstrate to Kahnawake that they were back. They wanted to see how the community would react to a police operation that was not at the request of the Peacekeepers. This would explain the size of the raid and the force used. Otherwise, the RCMP were just incompetent. Either way, it is cause to worry.

The major reason for the Policing Agreement between Kahnawake, Quebec and Canada was to establish the Peacekeepers as the primary police force in Kahnawake. The agreement allowed the federal and provincial governments to recognize the Peacekeepers as a bona fide police force.

As the primary police force in Kahnawake, the community expects the Peacekeepers to enforce laws and keep the peace. They are needed to prevent the outside police forces from making the kinds of mistakes that got David Cross killed by police bullets in 1979.

The outside police forces do not know our community or our people. The raid on the property on the OCR was unnecessarily large and brutal. The Peacekeepers should be in a position to prevent excessive use of force. The RCMP and the SQ should consult with the Peacekeepers about these kinds of actions, not just inform them and ask for their presence. It is true that perhaps the Peacekeepers, by their very presence at the raid, may have prevented even further abuse, but that is not enough.

As the primary police force in Kahnawake, they have a responsibility to protect the community from overzealous police forces who still treat all of us with suspicion and prejudice. In this particular operation they failed in their duty.

RETURN

Comics

RETURN